Taxi Driver Online

We all know the law, or at least we should all know the law, but it appears that some hackneys on circuits don't know you can't ever exceed the metered rate within your manor.

And it appears that 'test purchasing' has got legal approval, which is a good thing for good folks, and a bad thing for bad folks.

http://www.instituteoflicensing.org/art ... d+for.html

Be interesting to read the full judgement when it's published.

_________________
IDFIMH

i would like to know if the hack was acting like a ph in a different area, if you know what i mean
not all clear, as it was a fixed fare

The driver faced two charges at trial: undertaking a journey in a hackney carriage used as a private hire vehicle and knowingly charging more than the metered fare, contrary to section 67, and driving a hackney carriage with fare-paying passengers without switching on the meter, contrary to the council’s byelaws.

Was the fare entirely within the prescribed area?

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I suspect it was a wait and return job within the area, maybe even some sort of Shakespeare tour?

However you have to wonder if that's the worst thing happening in that area? I take it no-one touts, vehicles are perfect and everyone is 100% pukka?

_________________
IDFIMH

That's disgusting! It's blatent entrapment. If anyone should have been in court then it should of been the taxi firm for negotiating the fare in the first place. The article contridicts itself though as it states the fare on the meter was lower than the 32 quid but then says he was getting done for not having the meter on. The motto for all drivers is don't let your operator negotiate a fare for you.

I don't use a meter, if HC negotiate a lower fare then does the meter still have to be switched on for the journey.

If the meter isn't on, how would the customer know that the fare was cheaper?
As far as I am concerned if the car is a hackney and the job is inside the prescribed area then the meter must be on. The driver can always charge less than the metered fare.

_________________
Grandad,

But what i'm asking is if a customer ask's a driver that he only has a fiver but they both know the fare is normally a tenner and out of the goodnes of the drivers heart he agree's then does he still have to turn on the meter regardless whether it's staying inside/outside of the prescribed area. Why would the customer need to know if the fair they negotiate before the trip is cheaper after arrival? A deal's a deal.

A deal is not a deal in a hackney inside the your own area. If the bylaws say the meter must be used then the meter must be used. Failure to do so is a breach of conditions. If the driver accepts the fare knowing that the sum is less than the metered rate then why would he not want the meter on? Unless of course he is on a circuit and he has to pay a % of what is on the meter at the end of the night and he was doing the "off the meter" job to fiddle the company.

_________________
Grandad,

So the taxi firms arranging a fixed fare is flawed. What should happen is the customer should enquire to the firms how much roughly would a journey be and then say to the driver on entry in this case that his firm said it should not be more than 32 quid and the driver would not have had to confirm the arrangement with his firm and would then have been forced to switch on the meter.

If that had been the case here, the driver would not have ended up in court.
The solution is so easy. In my case I have set up a very simple programe on my computer that calculates the fare on all 4 rates that we have. I can get the distance from autoroute and put that into the programme and I then know what the fare is likely to be so I can give a close estimate. But the realy simple bit is that you tell the customer that the fare will be approximatly £**.** but you will use the meter. realy it is that simple.

_________________
Grandad,

O.K Grandad understand what your saying now about the meter by law having to be switched on but if you tell the cuzzy that the approximate fare would be say £15 and on arrival its £16-17 are you only allowed to charge the £15. If not then you must get the rsols whosay "you said it would be 15" in which case i would not give approximates and inform them they'll know when we get there. We all know though that when questions about fares are asked me personally to avoid runners in some cases at night i'll give an approx fare but then ask for the dough up front.

You can charge anything you like up to the fare on the meter.
I often, especialy where the fare is going to be around the £15 mark, tell the customer that I will charge them the lesser of the fare on the meter or £15. I get the £15 up front and if the meter is less I give them change. If it is more I smile sweetly and tell them they have got a bargain.

_________________
Grandad,

I do the same as Grandad. if they ask for a quote, I quote the maximum, if they look like they are going to walk away, I say lets go on the meter if its less than £15 you pay meter fare if it clocks more you pay £15 and I stand the loss. You are winning 2 to 1. People never walk away when you tell them that.

Oh yes.

_________________
IDFIMH